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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Immigration lifts travel ban on Tony Pua

DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua can once again travel overseas after the Immigration Department lifted a travel ban slapped on him by the director-general last year.

"Good news finally!" wrote an elated Pua on his Facebook.

"(My lawyer) Gobind Singh Deo notified me that the senior federal counsel in the Attorney-General's Chambers has informed him that my travel ban has been lifted."

Pua was barred from travelling overseas since July 2015, when he was being investigated by the police for allegedly conducting "activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy".

The move appears to be linked to his criticism of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over the 1MDB scandal.

Pua's attempt at a judicial review to overturn the Immigration director-general's decision was rejected by the courts this July.

The High Court upheld the travel ban as valid, saying he was being investigated for a serious offence, and the right to a passport and overseas travel was not part of personal liberties guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

Pua said online checks now show that he is cleared for travel.

"I've just checked the Immigration website and yes, my status is now 'tiada halangan (not barred)'.

"Looking forward to my first trip overseas!" he said.

Pua is not the only individual banned from overseas travel recently, as the government has been acting against politicians and activists who are critical of the administration.

Barring overseas travel is one such action, purportedly to stop them from supposedly tarnishing the country's image.

Electoral reform coalition Bersih's chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah is one of thosebanned from leaving the country this May. -Mkini